The third part of our series on 400 years of UK-Japan relations covers a summit on William Adams , the first Englishman in Japan
ANNIVERSARY
Legends and Facts
The third part of our series on 400 years of UK-Japan relations covers a summit on William Adams , the first Englishman in Japan
By Julian Ryall Photos : Hirado City Hall
• Shipwreck survivor is well regarded here
• Call to reappraise some of his traditional tale
• Story has gaps , inconsistencies , ambiguities
• Plans to remake the Shogun mini-series
A
little over 403 years after William Adams became the first Englishman to set foot on Japanese soil , the contribution that he made to Anglo – Japanese relations has been celebrated at the inaugural Anjin Summit held in Hirado , Nagasaki Prefecture .
Part of the Japan400 series of events marking four centuries of Japan – Britain ties , the two-day summit was hosted by the town that had cemented ties with the
UK after having become a trading post for the East India Company . The organisers announced that the summit would , henceforth , be an annual event , and that its location would rotate among the four Japanese towns with which Adams is most closely connected .
“ Like many of my generation , I first came to Japan as a research student with a copy of James Clavell ’ s Shogun in hand ”, said 59-year-old Dr Richard Irving , a professor at the Kwansei Gakuin University School of Policy Studies in Hyogo Prefecture .
“ A year or so later , I found a copy of PG Rodgers ’ The First Englishman in Japan in a Barnsley [ South Yorkshire ] market for 40p ”, Irving recalled . “ My interest in Adams has been maintained ever since . Over the years , one or two interesting new perspectives on his life have emerged from my studies ”.
Among the dignitaries at the Anjin Summit was British Consul-General in Osaka Simon Fisher .
According to history , Adams was aboard the Dutch ship Liefde that was shipwrecked in April 1600 off Usuki , in what is now Oita Prefecture . Initially threatened with execution by Portuguese Jesuit priests , the crew were imprisoned at Osaka Castle on the orders of Tokugawa Ieyasu , the daimyo of Edo and future shogun .
Adams reportedly met Ieyasu three times during the summer of 1600 , and impressed him sufficiently with his knowledge of ships , shipbuilding and nautical mathematics that the two men became friends .
As well as the mayors of Hirado and Usuki , the leaders of Yokosuka , in Kanagawa Prefecture , and Ito in Shizuoka Prefecture , attended Hirado ’ s Anjin Summit .
Ito is where Adams built two modern ships to add to Ieyasu ’ s fleet , which had been destroyed in a devastating tsunami that occurred in February 1605 . The site of Adams ’ estate , granted to him by the shogun out of gratitude for all his assistance and advice , is located in Yokosuka .
Professor Irving , who took part in the summit panel discussions , said there always have been gaps in people ’ s understanding of Adams ’ story , as well as numerous inconsistencies . He is currently working on a new book , describing Adam ’ s life and times .
The main speaker at the summit was Reverend Henmi from Yokosuka , who is the head priest at the temple next to the site where Adams ’ house stood after he was granted an estate by the shogun . After Adams ’ death , his Japanese wife became a nun at the temple .
“ My own conclusion would be that parts of the traditional story concerning Adams should be questioned , and that this summit is an ideal opportunity to initiate a reappraisal of his life and times ”, Irving said .
“ This includes not only his personal background , but also the people and events surrounding him after his arrival in Japan ”.
The scale of the inaugural event is evidence of the regard that Japanese , even today , have for a man who history books here still call “ anjin Adams ” ( sea-going pilot Adams ).
24 | BCCJ ACUMEN | JUNE 2013